How to play Sumo
- Every wrestler starts inside the sandy ring. Next to each wrestler, an arrow turns round and round, about once every second and a half.
- Tap to charge the way your arrow points. You slide a long way, so choose your moment.
- When wrestlers bump, they push each other. A charge that hits a rival straight on sends them flying, and you stop almost dead.
- After a charge your arrow fades for a moment. You can charge again as soon as it is bright.
- Leave the ring and you are out of the bout. The last wrestler inside wins it. If the last two leave together, the bout is played again.
- After 10 seconds the rope starts to shrink, so every bout ends sooner or later.
- The first player to win 3 bouts wins the match. The dots beside each button show how many bouts each player has won.
Controls
Each player has a big round button with their colour. You can tap anywhere in your own part of the screen, not just on the button.
| Players | Where to tap | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| 2 players | Orange taps the bottom half and Purple the top half. On a wide screen it's left and right. | Orange A or Space, Purple L or Enter |
| 3 players | Orange taps the bottom half, Purple the top right and Green the top left. | Green Z |
| 4 players | One corner each: Orange bottom left, Purple top right, Green top left, Blue bottom right. | Blue M |
Against the computer, every tap and every one of these keys charges your orange wrestler. Choose 3 or 4 players before you press vs Computer to take on two or three computer wrestlers at once.
Computer levels
The computer sees the same ring as you, and its taps are never perfectly timed: the easier the level, the further off they are.
| Level | How it plays |
|---|---|
| Easy | Charges at the nearest rival, sometimes wildly. It doesn't watch the edge, so it can slide out by itself. |
| Medium | Aims where you are going, and heads back to the middle when it gets near the rope. |
| Hard | Tries out every moment to charge during the next turn of its arrow, plays each one through in its head and picks the best. Its timing is still a little off. |
| Expert | Plans like Hard with much sharper timing, and expects you to charge whenever your arrow points at it. |
Tips to win
- Wait for a straight shot. A charge that hits your rival in the middle pushes much harder than a glancing one.
- Strike while they rest. Just after your rival charges, their arrow fades and they can't charge back for a moment.
- Stay near the middle. The closer you are to the rope, the shorter the push that knocks you out.
- Never charge at the rope. If your arrow points out of the ring and you're near the edge, let it turn past.
- Dodge sideways. When a rival's arrow swings towards you, a quick charge to one side makes them miss and slide on.
- In a crowd, wait. With three or four players, let the others crash into each other, then push out whoever is left near the rope.
About sumo
Sumo is a Japanese style of wrestling with a long history. Two wrestlers meet in a clay ring with a circle of straw bales about 4.55 metres across. A wrestler loses by stepping out of the circle or by touching the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet, and many bouts are over in a few seconds. This Sumo is a cartoon pushing game, not real wrestling: it keeps just the ring, the starting lines, the short bouts and the simple goal of pushing your rival out.
Questions
Can three or four people play Sumo?
Yes. Choose 3 or 4 players before pressing the play button. Each player gets a corner of the screen, so a tablet laid flat on a table works best.
What happens if two wrestlers leave the ring together?
If the last wrestlers in the ring go out at the same moment, nobody wins that bout and it starts again.
Why does the ring get smaller?
After 10 seconds the rope slowly moves in. It stops two careful players from circling forever: in the end the rope reaches the middle, and whoever is nearest the middle stays in longest.
Can I play Sumo on a phone?
Yes. Two players can hold a phone between them, with one half of the screen each. On a computer you can use the keys instead.
Is Sumo free?
Yes. It's free in your browser, with no download, no sign-up and no ads during a match.
Updated 7 November 2026